想吃巧克力緩解經期綜合症?要怪就怪社會

You know that crazy-intense choclate bar craving that hits you hard around the time your period is due? You're in good company in the candy aisle; almost 50% of women in the United States say they crave chocolate during their PMS week as well.

你知道嗎？快來大姨媽的時候，你會超級想吃巧克力棒。很多人和你一樣也喜歡吃糖，近50%的美國女性說她們在經期綜合症那一週，也會特別想吃巧克力。

Scientists have hypothesized that hormonal fluctuations or nutritional deficiencies may play a role. But new research suggests that a period-related hankering for chocolate is more about the cultural norms of where you live than anything going on in your body.

科學家們假設：激素波動或營養缺陷可能是造成這種饞癮的原因之一。但新研究表明：經期對巧克力的渴望更多的是由生活環境中的文化規範造成的，而不是由身體內部發生的變化引起的。

The new study, published in PLOS ONE, compared survey responses about chocolate cravings, culture, and PMS from 275 undergraduate women at the University at Albany, the State University of New York. The woman were from more than 25 different countries and had diverse backgrounds; researchers specifically recruited participants who were born outside the United States, had parents born outside of the United States, had spent time living in other countries, or primarily spoke a language other than English while growing up.

這項新研究刊登在PLOS ONE期刊上，研究對比了紐約州立大學奧爾巴尼分校的275名女研究生對巧克力的渴望、文化背景和經期綜合症的調查反應。這些女生來自25個不同的國家，擁有不同的背景。研究人員專門招募了出生地非美國的受試者、父母的出生地不在美國的受試者、在其它國家生活過的受試者或是在成長的環境中，主要交流語言不是英語的受試者。

When it came to the women's responses, that diversity made a difference. Foreign-born women weren't any less likely to say they experienced chocolate cravings in general-but they were significantly less likely than U.S.-born women to believe their menstrual cycle had anything to do with them.

在這些女生的反應中，這些多樣性導致了很大的差別。總體來說，在他國出生的女生不太可能說她們特別想吃巧克力--但與出生在美國的女生相比，她們不大相信自己的經期與巧克力有任何關係。

Specifically, 41% of U.S.-born women who grew up speaking another language, and 33% of U.S.-born women who grew up speaking English, reported experiencing chocolate cravings at specific times during their menstrual cycle, compared to only 17% of foreign-born women. What's more, the foreign-born and second-generation Americans who did report PMS-related chocolate cravings also tended to feel more immersed in U.S. culture than those who did not.

具體而言，41%出生在美國但成長的過程中說另一種語言的女生和33%出生在美國且在成長的過程中說英語的女生稱，她們會在經期的特定階段特別想吃巧克力，而只有17%出生在他國的女生有這種渴望。此外，相比沒有特別想吃巧克力的女生，那些聲稱自己在經期想吃巧克力的出生在他國的美國人和第二代美國人往往更沉浸於美國文化。

"We are learning more and more that cravings, or at least certain elements of them, may be unique to North America," says lead author Julia Hormes, PhD, assistant professor of psychology at the University at Albany, State University of New York.

"我們正在瞭解更多關於饞癮的事，或者至少了解一定的成分，也許這是北美地區獨一無二的，"紐約州立大學奧爾巴尼分校心理學助理教授、首席作者茱莉亞·福爾摩斯博士說道。

This isn't the first study to suggest that PMS-related food cravings are a product of American living, either. Previous research has found that only 28% of Spanish women crave chocolate around the time of their periods, and that only 6% of Egyptian women crave chocolate at all.

該項研究並非提出經期饞癮是美國生活產物的第一個研究。先前的研究發現：只有28%的西班牙女性在經期時想吃巧克力，而埃及只有6%的女性想吃巧克力。